Unileverhttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/5089/all
enVIA Agency's Jam Sessions Inspire the Creative Spirithttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/agencys-jam-sessions-inspire-creative-spirit-163574
Michelle Castillo<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/via-agency-01-2015.jpg"> <p>
<img alt="" src="/files/uploads/SPACER-652.gif" style="width: 10px; height: 1px; " /><br />
<u><strong>Specs</strong></u><br />
<strong>Who</strong> From left: John Coleman, founder, CEO; David Burfeind, chief knowledge officer; Leeann Leahy, president; Greg Smith, CCO<br />
<strong>What</strong> Full-service ad agency<br />
<strong>Where </strong>Portland, Maine<br />
<br />
The <a href="http://www.theviaagency.com" target="_blank">VIA Agency </a>built a business by thinking outside of the typical Madison Avenue mentality. It believes that what makes its work special for its clients&mdash;which include <a href="http://www.theviaagency.com/#/clients/klondike" target="_blank">Unilever&#39;s Klondike</a> and Vaseline, Sam&#39;s Club, and Welch&#39;s&mdash;is that it&#39;s structured to let creative juices flow. Housed in a restored Portland, Maine, public library built in 1888, the 22-year-old agency inspires its employees through lunchtime dance parties, snow sculpture building contests and juggling lessons.</p>
<p>
There&#39;s also acoustic jam session nights, often led by the house band that released a Christmas album last year. (That spirit may have helped it nab a One Screen award for the music video it produced for <a href="http://www.theviaagency.com/#/clients/threeolives" target="_blank">Three Olives vodka.)</a> &quot;We open our minds and open our brains to creative inspiration,&quot; president Leeann Leahy said. &quot;We believe that yields better work.&quot;</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t816RfEBWVg" width="652"></iframe></p>
Advertising & BrandingAccountsMarketingKlondikeMagazine ContentPortraitMichelle CastilloThe Via AgencyUnileverVaselineWelch'sPackaged GoodsRetailCreativeTue, 24 Mar 2015 00:55:41 +0000163574 at http://www.adweek.comFor Unilever's CMO, Global Growth and Social Responsibility Are Now Inseparable Goalshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/keith-weeds-plan-grow-unilever-and-reduce-its-global-footprint-163596
Joan Voight<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/fea-keith-weed-01-2015.jpg"> <p>
Keith Weed seems a little shell-shocked.</p>
<p>
Just a few days earlier, he was in shirtsleeves and in the embrace of a 90-degree day in Singapore. But this March morning, he finds himself hit full in the face with the frigid, slushy mess of New York. &quot;It&#39;s terribly cold out there, and I&#39;m so glad to get to this nice, warm office,&quot; he says with a sigh.</p>
<p>
Yet another giant snowstorm is due as he&#39;s scheduled to jet off to Europe. Another sigh.</p>
<p>
As chief marketing and communications officer of Unilever, the world&#39;s second-largest packaged-goods marketer, Weed has the whole world as his office. His company, based in London and Rotterdam, Holland, encompasses some of the best-loved products in the world&mdash;among them, Dove, Axe and Vaseline health and beauty products; Lipton tea; Hellmann&#39;s mayonnaise; plus a thousand other brands used by 2 billion people on any given day. Last year, Unilever spent $7.6 billion on brand and marketing initiatives. Now, Weed wants the world to know the Unilever name as well as those of its goods.</p>
<p>
A major step was the first TV ad for the corporate brand. The spot, called &quot;Bright Future Speeches,&quot; puts Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi side by side with young people giving impassioned speeches about fighting child hunger. The ad&mdash;a promotion for <a href="https://www.projectsunlight.us" target="_blank">Unilever&#39;s Project Sunlight</a>, an online hub of social programs benefiting children that works in concert with the charity Feeding America&mdash;closes with the Unilever &quot;U&quot; and the logos of Lipton, Knorr, Hellmann&#39;s, Suave and Dove. Launched last October by Ogilvy &amp; Mather and sister shop David, the ad offers an emotional &quot;explanation of what our U logo means,&quot; Weed explains. The campaign, which encompasses television, print and in-store elements, ran through the end of last year in the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, India and Indonesia and still has a presence online.</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/73g8I2KebD4" width="652"></iframe></p>
<p>
The campaign is not without its critics, who point to the difficulty of corporate-versus-product branding. &quot;This approach can help Unilever stand out by creating a strong association with a highly worthy cause,&quot; says Claudia Fisher, co-founder and partner of the brand consultancy Rivia. And yet she finds the brands singled out in the ad &quot;puzzling,&quot; explaining, &quot;Corporate branding needs to transcend categories, but here is a selection of product brands that is neither a representation of their core portfolio segments nor is it a selection of brands with the best natural fit with the cause.&quot; A Unilever rep responds: &quot;These brands are linked to our Unilever social mission overall, and they are our biggest brands in the U.S. that provide scale to make change possible.&quot;</p>
<p>
<strong>Getting Bigger and Greener</strong><br />
In totality, Unilever has steadily grown as a global force, even as its larger rival, Cincinnati-based <a href="http://www.pg.com" target="_blank">Procter &amp; Gamble</a>, has stalled. P&amp;G is in the process of divesting or combining some 100 brands, including Duracell, in a mission to restore profitability. Despite a slowdown in the Chinese market, Unilever&#39;s sales worldwide grew 2.9 percent in 2014, buoyed by a 5.7 percent spike in emerging markets. (Sales in developed countries fell around 1 percent.) Some 60 percent of global sales now come from emerging markets; the goal is 70 percent by 2020.</p>
<p>
Expanding the company&#39;s global footprint is only the beginning of Weed&#39;s mission, however. The CPG giant, guided by CEO Paul Polman, has set forth not only to double the size of its business but also to reduce its environmental impact. It is putting its U logo on all its products and marketing pieces as a &quot;trust mark of sustainability,&quot; says Weed, &quot;a way of telling consumers that any product with the U is the right choice for the planet.&quot;</p>
<p>
A 32-year veteran of the company, Weed crafted the <a href="http://www.unilever.com/sustainable-living-2014/" target="_blank">Unilever Sustainable Living Plan</a> in 2010 as a way to decouple the company&#39;s growth from its environmental footprint. Not only does it cover all Unilever brands in all markets, but it also addresses the sourcing of raw materials and the way consumers use products&mdash;everything from putting an end to deforestation by Lipton tea farmers to reducing the amount of hot water a family uses to do the laundry with Surf detergent. (Weed says Unilever now sources half of its agricultural raw materials from sustainable farms.) Along the way, the Sustainable Living Plan grew to include &quot;improving health and well-being&quot; and &quot;enhancing livelihoods&quot;&mdash;hence the anti-hunger campaign.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/dove-self-esteem-project-hed-2015.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Dove | Unilever says products that incorporate social purpose in their messaging deliver better sales results. Dove&#39;s Self-Esteem Project has to date reached more than 14 million girls worldwide, providing parents, teachers and mentors with tools to hold up to the next generation of women. <span class="meta-credit"> </span></p>
</div>
<p>
Along with the parent company, each of Unilever&#39;s product divisions is charged with adding social purpose to its brand positioning. Even Axe, perhaps best known for the <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-axe-helps-guy-get-girl-hes-chased-all-human-history-157180" target="_blank">sexed-up, adolescent fantasies of its marketing campaigns,</a> adopted the theme of world peace for its Super Bowl ad this year from Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which had wartime imagery shifting into romantic gestures. Apparently, the strategy is paying off. &quot;Our brands that most engage with our sustainability and social purpose plan are growing faster,&quot; Weed reports. Indeed, in the last three years, Unilever saw a 10 percent annual increase in sales among those brands.</p>
<p>
<strong>Marketing &#39;Lost its Way&#39;</strong><br />
The marriage of marketing and social purpose is not always seamless, of course. &quot;We realized early that we could not have tension between our marketing people and sustainability people if we were going to find ways to serve more people without increasing our impact on the earth,&quot; Weed says. With Polman&#39;s blessing, in 2011 Weed combined Unilever&#39;s marketing, social responsibility and communications teams into one department where social good forms the backbone of marketing efforts. Before that, Weed says, &quot;marketing people felt they were being held back by our sustainability challenge and that it took their eyes off the ball of growing their brands. On the other hand, the sustainability people thought marketing was part of the problem and would never take them seriously.&quot;</p>
<p>
Weed, who was trained as an engineer, believes a big part of that conflict was that &quot;marketing had lost its way since the 1980s. Advertising and marketing used to be a noble calling, but then they became just about selling stuff for the sake of selling. It was all about consumerism.&quot; But he sees social purpose and sustainability as the same as marketing rather than having separate missions.</p>
<p>
Unsurprisingly, Weed seeks to be green at home while he changes the world on the job, installing solar panels, growing his own vegetables and recycling water for his garden. &quot;So far, the thing I can&#39;t solve are the [fuel-guzzling] flights I have to take,&quot; he notes.&nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin: 15px 0px 15px 15px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/ben-and-jerry-ice-cream-01-2015.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Ben &amp; Jerry&#39;s: Seventy-seven percent of varieties&nbsp;have<br />
achieved Fairtrade certification.</p>
</div>
<p>
<strong>Emerging Market Factor</strong><br />
Experts believe Unilever has tapped into the right message as the globe tilts to the East and South. The GDP of emerging markets will overtake that of developed economies by 2020, with the middle class adding more than 1 billion consumers worldwide, per McKinsey. And those consumers will gravitate to brands with a social purpose. Nearly three-quarters of online consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa are willing to pay more for products &quot;from companies that are committed to positive social and environmental impact,&quot; says Nielsen. In North America and Europe, that number is just 40 percent.</p>
<p>
Research from consultancy APCO Worldwide bears that out. Consumers in emerging markets pay greater attention to how corporations behave in the workplace, in the community and in regard to the environment than those in the developed world, says CEO Brad Staples. &quot;This makes corporate brand and reputation communications even more important in burgeoning markets.&quot;</p>
<p>
For example, when Unilever connected purpose-embedded products with the Unilever parent brand in Brazil, &quot;affinity scores and brand awareness increased dramatically,&quot; says KoAnn Vikoren Skrzyniarz, CEO of the association Sustainable Brands.</p>
<p>
Another trend affecting global marketing is a consumer base that is increasingly mobile and urban, Weed points out. &quot;Marketers have the massive opportunity to use mobile to talk to people as individuals with access to real-time data,&quot; he says. That is even more pronounced in developing countries, eMarketer found, where a growing young, connected middle class is beginning to recognize and prefer name brands.</p>
<p>
To illustrate the possibilities, Weed points to an innovative campaign in Bihar, one of the largest states in India, where TV and print reach only 20 percent of the population but where many more consumers own a mobile phone.</p>
<p>
The impact of mobile no doubt will challenge Unilever&#39;s media agencies, which are currently undergoing a mandatory review, with a decision expected after September. Held every three years, the review encompasses an annual media budget of more than $5 billion, most of which is handled by WPP Group&#39;s Mindshare, Interpublic Group&#39;s Initiative and Omnicom Group&#39;s PHD.</p>
<p>
Could the rise of mobile mean global efficiencies for Unilever, maybe less investment in media? Not likely, says Weed. &quot;I&#39;m a great believer in building the brand, so my goal is always to reach more people. Instead of trying to reach the same number of people with less money, I look at reaching more people with the same money.&quot; (About one-fifth of the company&#39;s total media spend goes to digital. Industry sources expect Unilever going forward to devote a greater share to digital, as have other marketers.)&nbsp;</p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: left;margin: 15px 0px 15px 0px;">
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/lifebouy-hed-2015.jpg" />
<p class="caption">
Lifebuoy | Once you put it on your hands, this handwash goes from white to green in 10 seconds (the time it takes to protect against almost all germs), thus encouraging kids to wait for the change in color when cleaning up. The product has sold exceptionally well in India, Indonesia and parts of Africa.<span class="meta-credit"> </span></p>
</div>
<p>
<strong>What&#39;s at Risk</strong><br />
Unilever&#39;s melding of marketing, social purpose and sustainability into a single department and under the parent brand is not without its pitfalls. &quot;A missed social purpose goal can be used against the company by critics,&quot; warns Skrzyniarz. Transparency helps, she says. &quot;Consumers today are not looking for perfection, but they want an authentic commitment to betterness with honesty about wins and failures along the way.&quot;</p>
<p>
Focusing on the overall corporation means problems for one brand could spread to another, adds Fisher&mdash;making close monitoring of messages and crisis management essential.</p>
<p>
Another risk is that brands can overreach, as shown by Starbucks&#39; recent effort to encourage&mdash;via its coffee cups&mdash;conversations about race. The social media backlash that followed indicated that many consumers thought the idea trivialized a serious issue.</p>
<p>
When it comes to sustainability, even the very definition can be dicey. Unilever contends that sustainability does not include limiting ingredients from genetically modified organisms, while its own Ben &amp; Jerry&#39;s brand disagrees, supporting a 2014 Vermont law requiring the labeling of food made with GMO ingredients. Unilever belongs to the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which sued Vermont officials to block the law.</p>
<p>
Yet another issue: What happens as sustainability becomes a more familiar marketing message and consumers are inundated by these corporate initiatives? Conglomerates including P&amp;G, Nestl&eacute; and Johnson &amp; Johnson all proudly tout their sustainability credentials and products with social purpose at their core. &quot;Today, all great brands advocate for their stakeholders&#39; interests, and these brands are driving the reputations of their parent companies,&quot; notes Staples. &quot;Such advocacy has become the most important and final step for any corporate brand to achieve high status among its stakeholders.&quot;</p>
<p>
But as Skrzyniarz points out, Unilever is not new to the sustainability message, having been committed for more than a decade to tying its brands to a more meaningful purpose. &quot;The world is moving in their direction, but they can maintain the benefit of first mover by developing new expertise,&quot; she says.</p>
<p>
That puts all the more pressure on Weed and on Unilever&#39;s agency partners. Unilever understands what it&#39;s up against, the company veteran says: &quot;It used to be that big eats small. But now it&#39;s a world where fast eats slow. What&#39;s important is that we get to the future first.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
Advertising & BrandingAxeDoveDuracellMagazine ContentUnileverJoan VoightMon, 23 Mar 2015 04:00:03 +0000163596 at http://www.adweek.comEmotional and Effective, Upworthy's Native Ads Have Brought in More Than $10 Million for the Sitehttp://www.adweek.com/news/press/emotional-and-effective-upworthys-native-ads-have-brought-more-10-million-site-163041
Michelle Castillo<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/upworthy.png"> <p>
When Starbucks wanted to share the uplifting story of how its local events helped a deaf woman discover a large, supportive community, the coffee chain turned to a somewhat obvious choice: Upworthy.</p>
<p>
Specifically, it went to the viral publisher of positivity&#39;s native ad division,&nbsp;Upworthy&nbsp;Collaborations, which <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/when-this-deaf-woman-went-to-starbucks-she-got-a-lot-more-than-a-tasty-frappuccino?c=hpstream" target="_blank">helped package and distribute the video</a> to an audience that always loves a tear-jerking tale.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZxDx3y1t9Ts" width="652"></iframe></p>
<p>
The branded content program, which launched in April 2014 with <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/unilever-project-sunlight" target="_blank">Unilever&#39;s Project Sunlight</a>, helps companies either by curating heartwarming and inspiring content created by the brand, working with the brand to create branded pieces or finding materials that align with the brand&#39;s mission and posting them on behalf of the brand. The content is then promoted on Upworthy&#39;s site and on social, and boosting online chatter through #UpChats on Twitter.</p>
<p>
In the nine months the native ad program was available during 2014, Upworthy said it generated more than $10 million in revenue for the publisher.</p>
<p>
The benefits aren&#39;t just for the the publisher, however. Upworthy said its native ads did 38 times better than the industry standard for social content, based on data complied by NewsWhip from the top 25 social publishers. (Previously, the site told Adweek that its branded content also outperforms other posts within its own site,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/upworthy-claims-it-can-deliver-its-positive-spin-brands-160747" target="_blank">getting 3.5 times more views</a> and 2.9 times more attention minutes than its site average. Clients have seen a 50 percent to 100 percent brand awareness lift and a 15 percent to 25 percent increase in positive brand association, the site said. )</p>
<p>
Many Upworthy Collaborations pieces topped 500,000 views and earned over 100,000 Facebook likes, shares and comments, despite the fact that Upworthy is one of the viral sites whose referral traffic was <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/facebook-algorithm-tweaks-hurt-viral-sites-more-other-publishers-156533" target="_blank">hit hard</a> by Facebook&#39;s NewsFeed <a href="http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/infographic-facebooks-shocking-effect-upworthy-will-blow-mind/437179" target="_blank">algorithm tweaks</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>
&quot;Every campaign of ours is customized to address a very specific marketing or strategic objective of our client&mdash;and every one of our campaigns has successfully done that,&quot; Upworthy&#39;s director of revenue Josh Luger said via email. &quot;We&#39;ve literally over-delivered against every media plan guarantee as a result of our audience&#39;s overwhelming response to our native content. Most importantly, though, we&#39;ve seen significant perception change in every campaign we&#39;ve measured.&quot;</p>
<p>
Unilever svp of marketing Marc Mathieu said in a statement that, in less than eight months, Upworthy Collaborations got 175 million social impressions, 6 million social interactions and more than 15 million viewers. Most importantly, the brand reported a 17 percent increase in the perception the brand was committed to improving the future of the planet among those who saw its Upworthy content.</p>
<p>
Other marketers partnering with the program have included Toms, Whirlpool, Gap, Holiday Inn, Pantene, Dove, A&amp;E, Universal Pictures, Virgin Mobile, American Family Insurance and CoverGirl, as well as some nonprofit organizations like The Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, The United Nations and The U.S. Fund for UNICEF. <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/one-can-make-you-tired-sick-blind-or-dead-the-other-its-nearly-perfect" target="_blank">Toms</a> reported a 69 percent higher monthly social media growth during the time its campaigns ran with Upworthy.</p>
<p>
&quot;Upworthy Collaborations proves that native campaigns can work best when centered around meaningful and authentic messages that resonate on a deep, emotional level with consumers,&quot; Luger said. &quot;We&#39;ve continued to see growing and overwhelming demand for our native programs in 2015, and we expect that trend to continue. We couldn&#39;t be more excited for the year ahead.&quot;</p>
The PressBranded Contentnative advertisingOnlineTomsUnileverMichelle CastilloUpworthy CollaborationsFri, 20 Feb 2015 14:02:50 +0000163041 at http://www.adweek.comUnilever Consolidates Its Search Marketing Business http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilever-consolidates-its-search-marketing-business-162634
Noreen O'Leary<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/unilever-products-hed-2015_0.png"> <p>
Unilever has consolidated all of its search engine optimization and search engine marketing&nbsp; efforts at Resolution Media after a pitch.</p>
<p>
To manage the account, Resolution will work with fellow Omnicom Media Group media shop PHD, which handles most of the consumer goods giant&#39;s <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilever-moves-global-planning-duties-phd-initiative-144253" target="_blank">global media communications planning</a>.</p>
<p>
The shift of search business, which had primarily been handled by WPP Group agencies, comes amid Unilever&#39;s <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilevers-global-media-review-massive-and-will-take-most-year-162505" target="_blank">global review </a>of all of its media partners. While spending on search could not immediately be determined, Unilever all in spends more than $5 billion a year on global media.</p>
<p>
In a statement, Unilever confirmed the shift, noting that before the media review began, the company &quot;quite separately, analyzed its search marketing requirements.&quot;</p>
<p>
&nbsp;</p>
<p>
In 2012, OMG said it was <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/omnicom-establishes-resolution-media-as-global-search-agency-139377873.html" target="_blank">combining all of its search agencies</a> across 40 countries under the banner of Resolution Media. (Until that point, Resolution only operated in the U.S. while Omnicom&#39;s search offerings functioned under different names elsewhere in the world.) The unit is part of Annalect Group, OMG&#39;s digital data and analytic company.&nbsp;</p>
Advertising & BrandingAnnalectOmnicom Media GroupPhdResolution Mediasearch engine marketingNoreen O'LearyUnileverWPPThu, 29 Jan 2015 19:51:27 +0000162634 at http://www.adweek.com72andSunny Takes a Global Role on Unilever's Axehttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/72andsunny-takes-global-role-unilevers-axe-161745
Andrew McMains<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/axe-products-hed-2013.jpg"> <p>
Unilever&#39;s existing roster shops on Axe remain in place&mdash;including Bartle Bogle Hegarty, Lowe Ponce and R/GA&mdash;but newcomer 72andSunny is taking on a significant role.</p>
<p>
72andSunny&#39;s Amsterdam, The Netherlands, office will focus on redefining the brand&#39;s global strategic positioning, according to sources. As such, its work will become a blueprint of sorts on how the brand markets itself around the world.</p>
<p>
Historically, that role has been held by Bartle Bogle Hegarty, which has worked on Axe (and Lynx, as it&#39;s called in the U.K.) since 1995. So, while Unilever stresses that BBH remains a global roster shop, new kid 72andSunny is expected to play a leading global role going forward. Global media spending on the brand is estimated at more than $100 million a year.</p>
<p>
The hire came after a pitch that involved BBH, R/GA, Lowe, 180 and 72andSunny, according to sources. Unilever hadn&#39;t worked with either 72andSunny or 180 before.</p>
<p>
In a statement about the selection, Pablo Gazzera, an svp on Axe at Unilever, cited 72andSunny&#39;s &quot;proven track record,&quot; adding, &quot;We rely on a balance of long-term agency relationships and fresh insight on specific projects to get the best results for Axe.&quot;</p>
<p>
Carlo Cavallone, executive creative director at 72andSunny, in turn, described Axe as a &quot;legendary brand which has consistently impacted culture. As men and manliness change and progress, Axe will be at the forefront of the next evolution.&quot;</p>
<p>
Axe becomes one of the largest accounts at the Amsterdam agency, which also works for&nbsp; Google, Samsung and Smirnoff. Its full-time headcount is around 80.</p>
<p>
News of 72andSunny&#39;s emergence on Axe comes at an up and down time at BBH. Three weeks ago, the shop&#39;s London office <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/tesco-shifts-its-creative-business-bbh-162370" target="_blank">landed Tesco&#39;s big U.K. creative account</a>, with annually media spending of $170 million. But in December, the agency <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/after-15-years-bbh-johnnie-walker-picks-new-agency-162024" target="_blank">lost its global creative responsibilities</a> on Diageo&#39;s Johnnie Walker, which spends about $40 million in media a year. That brand had been at the agency for 15 years.</p>
Advertising & Branding72andsunnyAmsterdamAxeBartle Bogle HegartyBbhAndrew McMainsDiageoGlobalJohnnie WalkerLowe PonceLynxPablo GazzeraR/GAReviewSearchTescoUnileverThu, 29 Jan 2015 17:31:42 +0000161745 at http://www.adweek.comUnilever's Global Media Review Is Massive and Will Take Up Most of the Yearhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilevers-global-media-review-massive-and-will-take-most-year-162505
Noreen O'Leary<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/unilever-products-hed-2015.png"> <p>
Decisions in Unilever&#39;s global review of its media business aren&#39;t expected before the fourth quarter of 2015, with sources describing the process as &quot;quite conservative&quot; in advance of any shifts that would take effect early next year.</p>
<p>
The review is compulsory and happens every three years. That said, the impact of any changes in the current roster of agencies would be huge, given that Unilever spends more than $5 billion in media worldwide each year. In the U.S. alone, Unilever spent about $665 in the first nine months of 2014, according to Kantar Media. In 2013, the marketer invested $770 million in measured media in the states.</p>
<p>
The company&#39;s core media shops are WPP Group&#39;s Mindshare, which handles business in North America, parts of Europe and Africa; Interpublic Group&#39;s Initiative, which handles Latin America, Russia and parts of Europe; and Omnicom Group&#39;s PHD, which handles Asia and parts of Europe.</p>
<p>
The first stage of the process is a capabilities audit in which Unilever examines existing relationships and only proceeds to a review if marketing executives are unhappy. &quot;It&#39;s a way to keep the work load manageable for everyone,&quot; said a source. &quot;It doesn&#39;t mean Unilever will necessarily change things, but you never know.&quot;</p>
<p>
In late 2011, for example, Unilever <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilever-looking-challenge-tv-dominance-media-mix-137137" target="_blank">embarked</a> upon a global media review, but ultimately did not change any of the media buying agencies. The company did, however, <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilever-moves-global-planning-duties-phd-initiative-144253" target="_blank">shift</a> global communications planning from Mindshare to PHD and Initiative.</p>
<p>
In a statement, a Unilever representative confirmed that the company was in the &quot;in the early stages of our periodical media agency review process,&quot; adding, &quot;Current contracts expire at the end of 2015 and this review is for the period 2016 onwards.&quot; The rep declined to discuss details around the process.</p>
Advertising & BrandingAxeDoveglobal media reviewglobal reviewInitiativeNoreen O'LearyMindsharePhdUnileverVaselineFri, 23 Jan 2015 18:59:04 +0000162505 at http://www.adweek.comFor Super Bowl, Dove Men Will Basically Just Put a New Hashtag on Its 2014 Father's Day Ad http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/super-bowl-dove-men-will-basically-just-put-new-hashtag-its-2014-fathers-day-ad-162438
David Griner<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/dove-men-superbowl-dads-hed-2015.png"> <p>
If you loved Dove Men + Care&#39;s touching ad from last Father&#39;s Day, you&#39;ll either be disappointed or excited to hear what the brand has in store for the Super Bowl.</p>
<p>
The Unilever brand won&#39;t be rolling out new creative at this year&#39;s Super Bowl. Instead, the marketing team has freshened up its<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/doves-new-ad-shows-what-dads-really-do-158181" target="_blank">&nbsp;popular spot from June 2014</a> and will run it during the Big Game. The move gets more mileage out of a strong video, but it&#39;s also a bit of a letdown for those hoping to see something new.</p>
<p>
Now with the hashtag #RealStrength (versus the #RealDadMoments used last June), the spot has subtly shifted in focus from fathers <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/returning-super-bowl-2015-dove-mencare-aims-challenge-male-stereotypes-161861" target="_blank">to men in general.</a></p>
<p>
&quot;90 percent of men around the world say that their caring side is part of their masculinity and strength,&quot; notes the Super Bowl ad&#39;s description on YouTube. &quot;Let&#39;s acknowledge the caring side of men and celebrate their #RealStrength as a true sign of masculinity.&quot;</p>
<p>
The written text in the ad has changed a bit to match that messaging of caring being a central aspect of masculinity, while the earlier spot ended with, &quot;Isn&#39;t it time we celebrate dads?&quot; The new ad ends a bit more jarringly, with a voice-over announcing, &quot;Dove Men + Care: Care makes a man stronger,&quot; plus a message encouraging viewers to share stories of &quot;how care makes you stronger&quot; with the #RealStrength hashtag.</p>
<p>
With a spot as good as the original, it&#39;s easy to see why parent company Unilever might have wanted to play it safe and repurpose the spot for more mainstream exposure. But it&#39;s not like the original was overlooked&mdash;it has amassed 12.3 million views on YouTube since being posted.</p>
<p>
Here&#39;s the new spot, which a brand spokesperson confirmed today will air during the Super Bowl, followed by the original from June 2014:</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QoqWo3SJ73c?rel=0" width="652"></iframe></p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7Jpb2_YdxYM?rel=0" width="652"></iframe></p>
Advertising & BrandingDoveDove Men+CareSuper BowlUnileverTue, 20 Jan 2015 20:52:21 +0000162438 at http://www.adweek.comReturning to the Super Bowl in 2015, Dove Men+Care Aims to Challenge Male Stereotypes http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/returning-super-bowl-2015-dove-mencare-aims-challenge-male-stereotypes-161861
Lauren Johnson<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/tt-dove-hed-2014_0.jpg"> <p>
After debuting its first advertisement campaign during <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/dove-super-bowl-spot-scores-initial-points-men-107033" target="_blank">the 2010 Super Bowl</a>, Unilever&#39;s Dove Men+Care will make its second appearance in the upcoming game hosted in Glendale, Ariz.</p>
<p>
Five years ago, Dove Men+Care launched the brand with a campaign encouraging men to &quot;be comfortable in your own skin,&quot; including a minute-long ad that rattled off a long list of expectations that guys are held to while growing up.</p>
<p>
Here&#39;s a look back at the brand&#39;s 2010 Super Bowl ad:</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Oj0taJVkpVY?rel=0&amp;controls=0&amp;showinfo=0" width="652"></iframe></p>
<p>
The decision to run another ad in the 2015 Super Bowl stems from research backing up the brand&#39;s goal of challenging typical macho stereotypes in advertising. Before launching at the 2010 game, the packaged-goods brand found that 73 percent of men believe they are falsely depicted in advertising.</p>
<p>
&quot;Fast forward five years later, we want to go back to the Super Bowl and continue that conversation...to celebrate the multidimensional aspects of masculinity that define what it means to be a man today,&quot; said Jennifer Bremner, director of marketing at Dove Men+Care.</p>
<p>
Bremner couldn&#39;t confirm the ad&#39;s length or creative content, or during which quarter of the game it will run, but she said the spot builds on the 2010 ad&#39;s theme. &quot;As a brand, we&#39;re committed to showcasing real men in their lives, so it will be in line with that,&quot; she said.</p>
<p>
<strong>Social Activations</strong><br />
Dove Men+Care will also make a hefty social media push for its Super Bowl campaign with a mixture of planned and real-time marketing.</p>
<p>
As an example of the planned social posts, Dove Men+Care ran a campaign earlier this year called<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/doves-new-ad-shows-what-dads-really-do-158181" target="_blank">&nbsp;&quot;Real Dad Moments,&quot;</a>&nbsp;which asked men to share real-world examples of being a dad.</p>
<p>
&quot;There are certain things that you can predict and we can be prepared [for] because we&#39;re really clear on what our brand is about. Then there&#39;s a level of flexibility you want to have during the course of the game so that you can engage in a conversation if it is appropriate to what you as a brand stand for,&quot; Bremner said.</p>
<p>
To help orchestrate some of that content, Dove Men+Care is considering setting up a social media command center, much like <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/anheuser-busch-plotting-win-super-bowl-four-social-media-command-rooms-161826" target="_blank">Anheuser-Busch</a>&nbsp;will do.</p>
<p>
Dove Men+Care is also still a relatively new brand, so the focus on social is meant to build brand awareness beyond the traditional TV spot.</p>
<p>
&quot;Dove Men+Care is a brand that&#39;s really about talking to men and challenging stereotypes,&quot; Bremner said. &quot;Social gives us an opportunity to extend the conversation that we hope to start and spark on the Super Bowl.&quot;</p>
<p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="367" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7Jpb2_YdxYM?rel=0" width="652"></iframe></p>
Advertising & BrandingTechnologyDove Men+CareJennifer Bremnerreal-time marketingSocial MediaLauren JohnsonSuper Bowl 2015The Big GameTv adUnileverWed, 10 Dec 2014 15:19:30 +0000161861 at http://www.adweek.comThis Diet Brand Wants a New Agency Just in Time for New Year's Resolutionshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/diet-brand-wants-new-agency-just-time-new-years-resolutions-161769
Noreen O'Leary<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/slim-fast-shakes-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
Slim Fast is talking to agencies about taking on creative responsibilities for the weight-management company&#39;s products.</p>
<p>
The business had been handled by <a href="http://thebullwhitehouse.com/home/" target="_blank">The Bull-White House</a>, New York, until the brand was <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/unilever-sheds-slim-fast-brand-1405013326" target="_blank">sold</a> by Unilever earlier this year and the agency&rsquo;s contract ended.</p>
<p>
The brand spent more than $17 million on measured media advertising in 2013, according to Kantar Media.</p>
<p>
A representative at private equity player <a href="http://www.kainoscapital.com/cgi-bin/about.pl" target="_blank">Kainos Capital</a>, Slim Fast&#39;s new owner, declined to comment on the search.</p>
<p>
Dallas-based Kainos has invested more than $2 billion of equity in more than 40 transactions in the food and consumer sector. At the time of the sale, Unilever said it would retain a minority stake in Slim Fast.</p>
<p>
The Bull-White House, which works on Unilever&rsquo;s I Can&rsquo;t Believe It&rsquo;s Not Butter, picked up the Slim Fast business in 2012 from Protagonist without a review. The account moved largely because of Matthew Bull, the agency&rsquo;s South African creative founder, who had a 15-year history with Unilever at his previous agency, Lowe.</p>
Advertising & Brandingcreative accountKainos CapitalReviewSearchSlim FastNoreen O'LearyUnileverThu, 04 Dec 2014 21:40:36 +0000161769 at http://www.adweek.comHellmann's Parent Company Says Organic Brand 'Just Mayo' Isn't Actually Mayohttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/unilever-claims-organic-startup-just-mayo-not-really-mayo-lawsuit-161361
Toni McQuilken<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/hellmans-mayo-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
In a modern-day version of David and Goliath, multi-billion-dollar food behemoth <a href="http://www.unilever.com/" target="_blank">Unilever</a>, which makes Hellmann&#39;s and Best Foods mayonnaise, is suing startup <a href="http://www.hamptoncreek.com/#top" target="_blank">Hampton Creek</a> over its branding.</p>
<p>
Hampton Creek sells Just Mayo, which uses a logo depicting an egg with a pea shoot growing through it. But Just Mayo does not contain eggs. Unilever claims the brand&#39;s logo and name amount to false advertising. Mayonnaise, <a href="http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=169.140" target="_blank">by FDA regulations</a>, contains egg yolk and vegetable oil&mdash;the reason competitors such as Miracle Whip call themselves &quot;spreads&quot; and not mayonnaise.</p>
<p>
Hampton reasons its product is labeled &ldquo;mayo,&rdquo; not &ldquo;mayonnaise.&rdquo; Plus, it actively markets the absence of eggs, so the company claims it&#39;s not creating any false impressions.</p>
<p>
&quot;This is big business,&quot; Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick told&nbsp;<a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/hellmanns-seeks-justice-vs-just-mayo-1415664732" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal.</a>&nbsp;&quot;We&rsquo;re competing directly with a company that hasn&rsquo;t had real competition in decades. These things happen.&quot;</p>
<p>
The suit was filed Oct. 31 in the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. Unilever claims: &ldquo;The Just Mayo false name is part of a larger campaign and pattern of unfair competition by Hampton Creek to falsely promote Just Mayo spread as tasting better than, and being superior to, Best Foods and Hellmann&rsquo;s mayonnaise.&rdquo;</p>
<p>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/11/business/unilever-sues-a-start-up-over-mayonnaise-like-product.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported that Unilever is asking for damages of three times Hampton Creek&rsquo;s profits plus legal fees. Unilever also wants Just Mayo to change its logo, recall all products on the market and pull all marketing materials.</p>
<p>
Hampton Creek has won some public sympathy, at least. The company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/hamptoncreek/posts/820145044675028" target="_blank">reported</a> that in the first 24 hours of the story going public, it received more than 18,000 supportive messages. Celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern started a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.change.org/p/tell-unilever-to-stop-bullying-sustainable-food-companies" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a> in defense of Hampton and other sustainable food startups, and his effort has garnered more than 16,000 signatures.</p>
Advertising & BrandingUnileverTue, 11 Nov 2014 19:39:17 +0000Toni McQuilkenHere Are Forbes' 50 Most Influential CMOs of 2014http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/here-are-forbes-50-most-influential-cmos-2014-161273
Kristina Monllos<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/phill-schiller-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
Male chief marketing officers on Forbes&#39; third annual Appinions&nbsp;CMO Influence Study,<em> </em><a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jenniferrooney/2014/11/07/the-worlds-most-influential-cmos-2014/" target="_blank">which was released today,</a> are 22 percent more influential than their female peers. Although women make up 32 percent of the influencers on the list, they only have a 21 percent share of the influence.</p>
<p>
According to Forbes&#39; study this means that &quot;their opinions received either a lower quantity of reactions, were reacted to by less influential people, or their opinions and the reactions to them appeared in less impactful publications.&quot;&nbsp;</p>
<p>
From July to October <a href="http://www.adweek.com/topic/forbes" target="_blank">Forbes</a> analyzed data on the top 500 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 Largest Companies List and over 100 million articles. The CMOs were ranked by how they have established themselves by sharing opinions that and generate significant reactions.</p>
<p>
Check out who made the list below:&nbsp;</p>
<p>
1. Phil Schiller, Apple<br />
2. David Lauren, Ralph Lauren<br />
3. Tim Mahoney, General Motors<br />
4.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/fast-chat-fords-jim-farley-talks-fusion-marketing-143814" target="_blank">Jim Farley</a>, Ford<br />
5. John Frascotti, Hasbro<br />
6. Kristin Lemkau, JPMorgan Chase<br />
7. Trevor Edwards, Nike<br />
8.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news-gallery/advertising-branding/these-5-dynamic-duos-are-nailing-digital-marketing-159165#industrial-artiste-1" target="_blank">Beth Comstock</a>, General Electric<br />
9. Seth Farbman, Gap<br />
10. Alain Visser, Volvo<br />
11. Matt Jauchius, Nationwide Mutual<br />
12. Richelle Parham, eBay<br />
13.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/martines-magic-103261" target="_blank">Martine Reardon</a>, Macy&#39;s<br />
14. Kevin Krone, Southwest<br />
15. Olivier Francois, Fiat Chrysler<br />
16. Stephanie Linnartz, Marriott<br />
17. Andrew Nocella, American Airlines<br />
18. Barb Rechterman, GoDaddy<br />
19. Blair Christie, Cisco<br />
20. Anne Finucane, Bank of America<br />
21. Russell Wager, Mazda<br />
22. Jim Berra, Carnival<br />
23. Jeremy Burton, EMC<br />
24. Alan Gershenhorn, UPS<br />
25. Tony Pace, Doctor&#39;s Associates (Subway)<br />
26. Keith Weed, Unilever<br />
27. Dorothy Dowling, Best Western<br />
28. Ola Kallenius, Mercedes-Benz<br />
29. Dana Anderson, Mondelez<br />
30. Ariel Kelman, Amazon<br />
31. Michael Zuna, Aflac<br />
32. Jeannine Haas, Avis Budget Group<br />
33. Karen Quintos, Dell<br />
34. Ken Chaplin, Trans Union<br />
35. Khaled Elkhouly, Etisalat<br />
36. Lorraine Twohill, Google<br />
37. Mark Hug, Prudential Financial<br />
38. Roel de Vries, Nissan<br />
39. Mike Wege, Hershey Company<br />
40. Brian Smith, Lexus<br />
41. David Christopher, AT&amp;T<br />
42. Loren Angelo, Audi<br />
43. Deanie Elsner, Kraft<br />
44. Roy Benin, Mars<br />
45. Ann Mukherjee, Frito-Lay<br />
46. Andrea Riley, Ally Financial<br />
47. Ann Glover, Voya Financial<br />
48. Jeffrey Hirsch, Time Warner Cable<br />
49. Andy England, MillerCoors<br />
50. Johan Buse, SingTel<br />
&nbsp;</p>
Advertising & BrandingAflacAlly FinancialAmazonAmerican AirlinesAppleKristina MonllosAudiAvisBank Of AmericaBest WesternCarnivalchief marketing officerCiscoCMODellEbayEMCEtisalatFiat Chrysler AutomobilesForbesFordFrito-layGapGeneral ElectricGoogleHasbroJP Morgan ChaseKraftLexusMacy'sMarriottMarsMazdaMercedes-benzMillerCoorsMondelezNationwideNikeNissanPhil SchillerPrudentialRalph LaurenSingtelSouthwestSubwayTime Warner CableTrans UnionUnileverUpsVolvoVoya FinancialFri, 07 Nov 2014 13:00:02 +0000161273 at http://www.adweek.comUpworthy Claims It Can Deliver Its Positive Spin for Brandshttp://www.adweek.com/news/technology/upworthy-claims-it-can-deliver-its-positive-spin-brands-160747
Michelle Castillo<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/project-sunshine-hed-2014.jpg"> <p>
At some point, you&#39;ve probably come across a post from&nbsp;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/upworthy-touts-new-metric-155516" target="_blank">Upworthy</a>, the publisher known for its emotional stories that make readers feel pumped up about the world. While this tactic has been shown to work for editorial articles&mdash;and has drawn guest curators like <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/george-takei" target="_blank">George Takei</a> and <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/09/08/first-lady-joins-upworthy-guest-curator" target="_blank">Michelle Obama</a>&mdash;the viral purveyors claim it can also change people&#39;s opinions about a company. And it&#39;s got the attention of clients <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/unilever-project-sunlight" target="_blank">Unilever</a>, <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/gap-went-for-fairer-pay-even-though-the-rest-of-the-country-wasnt-really-doing-it-cool" target="_blank">Gap</a>, <a href="http://www.upworthy.com/30-seconds-of-women-over-apologizing-followed-by-30-seconds-of-them-so-destroying-that-stereotype" target="_blank">Pantene</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="http://www.upworthy.com/target-first-day-of-school" target="_blank">Target</a>.</p>
<p>
&quot;We wanted to bring that same exact experience on our site to our client,&quot; Upworthy&#39;s CRO James Marcus explained. &quot;We didn&#39;t want them to put a banner ad near that experience. We wanted them to have that same experience.&quot;</p>
<p>
Upworthy&#39;s advertising package, the Upworthy Collaborations program, is a &quot;strategic bundle&quot; of digital media methods that it knows works for its readership. The company claims that on average, brand content gets 3.5 times more overall views and 2.9 times more attention-minutes above the site average. In addition, these sponsored materials get three times as many social shares. And, according to Marcus, the company is seeing a 50 percent to 100 percent lift from topline brand awareness&mdash;and a 15 percent to 25 percent increase in positive associations with the brand.</p>
<p>
Josh Luger, Upworthy director of revenue and business development, explained that brands come to them with their content or decide to sponsor a topic or section. It then uses its magic touch to make sure the message is packaged to drive the most engagement. For the Unilever Project Sunlight campaign&mdash;which began in May and was expanded in September&mdash;it created a hub and curated social media chat called an #UpChat to promote the content. In total, it delivered tens of millions pageviews and more than 100 million timeline deliveries during the #UpChat session alone.</p>
<p>
&quot;What we&#39;re doing is really leveraging what we do best on a daily basis, and doing that when we work with advertisers,&quot; Luger explained.</p>
TechnologyThe PressGapMichelle ObamaOnlinePanteneMichelle CastilloUpworthyUpworthy CollaborationsMon, 13 Oct 2014 21:22:00 +0000160747 at http://www.adweek.comHow Ads That Empower Women Are Boosting Sales and Bettering the Industryhttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/how-ads-empower-women-are-boosting-sales-and-bettering-industry-160539
Roo Ciambriello<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/femvertising-awxi-hed-2014_0.png"> <p>
They have become some of the most popular and polarizing ads in recent years. And despite the negative commentary, despite the trolling, despite all the anonymous sneering, advocates say these ads are working.</p>
<p>
Marketing campaigns that empower women and girls rather than perpetuating stereotypes are proving to be hits with consumers and highly effective at generating sales, according to an Advertising Week panel of industry leaders behind some of the past year&#39;s top female-focused campaigns.</p>
<p>
Titled &quot;Fem-vertising: Women Demand More From Brands,&quot; Thursday&#39;s session in New York defined the movement as &quot;advertising that employs pro-female talent, messages and imagery to empower women and girls.&quot;</p>
<p>
Presented by lifestyle site SheKnows, which created <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/how-make-ban-bossy-less-polarizing-actually-ask-young-girls-what-they-think-156644" target="_blank">the #BossyIs video featuring young schoolgirls,&nbsp;</a>the panel was moderated by the site&#39;s chief revenue officer, Samantha Skey, and featured:</p>
<p>
&bull;&nbsp;Lauren Greenfield, director of <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/girl-no-longer-insult-inspiring-ad-pgs-always-158601" target="_blank">Always&#39; #LikeaGirl campaign</a> and winner of multiple Clio Awards<br />
&bull;&nbsp;Kathy O&#39;Brien, vp of marketing services at Unilever (who chatted about <a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-dove-shows-moms-just-what-theyre-teaching-their-girls-about-beauty-160477" target="_blank">the Dove Legacy film released on Wednesday</a>)<br />
&bull;&nbsp;Katie Ford, president and managing director of Starcom MediaVest Group<br />
&bull; Pam Grossman and Jessica Bennett, the women behind <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/getty-images-sheryl-sandberg-getty-images-team-make-stock-photos-women-more-empowering-155649" target="_blank">Sheryl Sandberg&#39;s jointly curated Lean In Collection on Getty Images</a></p>
<div class="news-article-image" style="float: right;margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0;">
<img class="fancyzoom" data-fancybox-src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/femvertising-awxi-panelists-2014.png" src="/files/imagecache/test-width/femvertising-awxi-panelists-2014.png" />
<p class="caption">
Panelists Jessica Bennett, Lauren Greenfield and Samantha Skey &nbsp;</p>
</div>
<p>
The discussion focused not only on advertising featuring women but also on the role the marketing industry plays in perpetuating negative stereotypes.</p>
<p>
&quot;Many, many brands make their livelihood selling on the insecurity of women and girls, and that&#39;s not going away,&quot; said Greenfield, author of the book Girl Culture.</p>
<p>
But women control 85 percent of household purchasing decisions, and they&#39;re also vocal about the types of ads they want to see. In a survey conducted by SheKnows, 71 percent of women said brands should be use their ads to promote positive messages to women and girls, while 81 percent said pro-female ads are important for younger generations to see.</p>
<p>
And while some people might balk and point out that advertising is a business, not a Kumbaya circle, the brands that are doing it right are also achieving amazing results.</p>
<p>
While each of the featured projects has achieved a level of viral success (the #LikeaGirl video has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs" target="_blank">reached nearly 50 million views since June</a>), they&#39;ve also had varying levels of product focus, with some such as Dove and Pantene barely incorporating products at all.</p>
<p>
So the online success of such ads might be nice, but is it actually doing anything for sales?</p>
<p>
Short answer: Yes.</p>
<p>
<img src="/files/imagecache/node-detail/femvertising-awxi-slide-2014.png" /></p>
<p>
Dove sales jumped from $2.5 billion to $4 billion since the launch of of its Campaign for Real Beauty, and Grossman noted that sales from Getty Images&#39; Lean In Collection have grown 66 percent since February 2014.</p>
<p>
&quot;There&#39;s a real relief in seeing yourself reflected,&quot; Greenfield said, noting that women feel a strong connection when a brand can portray something relatable.</p>
<p>
&quot;There&#39;s a pay gap, a leadership gap and visual gender gap,&quot; Bennett noted. &quot;You can&#39;t be what you can&#39;t see.&quot;</p>
<p>
Panel members also noted that pro-women advertising isn&#39;t alienating; the movement positively affects men, as well. Men are also invested in making sure women and girls are empowered and have a healthy body image, and the Always campaign and Getty Images have received feedback from men praising them for their efforts.</p>
<p>
&quot;Imagery of strong women has been great for men, too,&quot; Grossman said. &quot;They want to support their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters.&quot;</p>
Advertising & BrandingAdvertising WeekAlwaysDoveGetty ImagesLean InRoo CiambrielloSheryl SandbergStarcom MediaVestUnileverFri, 03 Oct 2014 16:15:44 +0000160539 at http://www.adweek.comIt's What You Do With Big Data That Countshttp://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/its-what-you-do-data-counts-160470
Andrew McMains<img src="http://www.adweek.com/files/imagecache/node-detail/news_article/unknown_201.jpeg"> <p>
Big data can inform creativity but is no substitute for the human ingenuity.</p>
<p>
To illustrate that point during an Advertising Week panel discussion today, Crispin Porter + Bogusky&#39;s Chuck Porter quoted everyone from Disney&#39;s Michael Eisner (&quot;In any new medium, a great story is the killer app&quot;) and DDB&#39;s Bill Bernbach (&quot;The memorable never came from a formula&quot;) to Albert Einstein (&quot;Imagination is more important than knowledge&quot;).</p>
<p>
Of the last quote, Porter said, &quot;This is on the wall of my office. I think it ought to be on the wall of everybody&#39;s office.&quot;</p>
<p>
Bartle Bogle Hegarty&#39;s John Hegarty used ads&mdash;from his agency, of course&mdash;to show how creative minds interpret data. In one case, the agency found in research that Johnnie Walker drinkers are successful but concluded that success, for them, is a journey, not a destination. That insight gave rise to the brand&#39;s long-running, &quot;Keep Walking&quot; campaign.</p>
<p>
&quot;Data stimulates insights,&quot; Hegarty said, simply.</p>
<p>
Similarly, Ogilvy &amp; Mather worldwide creative chief Tham Khai Meng cited Unilever research from 2004 that showed only 2 percent of the women the company polled considered themselves beautiful. That finding inspired one of Ogilvy&#39;s most heralded efforts in recent years: the &quot;<a href="http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising/behind-doves-real-beauty-81469" target="_blank">Campaign for Real Beauty</a>&quot; for Unilever&#39;s Dove, which continues today.</p>
<p>
Porter, Hegarty and Tham also agreed that data is nothing new and need not be feared. But again, it&#39;s what you do with it that counts. As Tham said, in closing, &quot;Don&#39;t worry. We will still be the masters of the universe.&quot;</p>
Advertising & BrandingAdvertising WeekAlbert EinsteinBartle Bogle HegartyBill BernbachChuck PorterAndrew McMainsDoveJohn HegartyJohnnie WalkerMichael EisnerOgilvy & Matherpanel discussionTham Khai MengUnileverMon, 29 Sep 2014 22:04:40 +0000160470 at http://www.adweek.comMentoring Is the Theme of Dove's New Campaign http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/mentoring-theme-doves-new-campaign-159877
Lauren Johnson<p>
Dove Men+Care&rsquo;s new football-themed &quot;Care Always Wins&quot; campaign puts an equal emphasis on social media and traditional media as it targets youth football coaches who make a difference in their communities.</p>
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The <a href="http://www.adweek.com/topic/unilever" target="_blank">Unilever</a> brand enlisted Stanford University head football coach David Shaw as the campaign&rsquo;s spokesman to illustrate that coaches should mentor players on and off the field. Research on kids&#39; attitude towards coaches drove the campaign&rsquo;s strategy. According to Kidshealth.com, 90 percent of children in the U.S. say that a coach should care about more about players than simply winning a game. And, findings from a PCA Responsible Sports Youth Sports Survey in 2013 found that 77 percent of dads and parents prioritize the caring role that coaches play for children.</p>
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Dove Men+Care deodorant has created a caring coach of the year award with <a href="http://www.dovemencare.com/" target="_blank">an online contest</a>. Via the brand&rsquo;s website, parents and athletes can nominate football coaches that work with kindergarten through high school-aged players. The catch is that the submissions must be no more than 250 words and explain the nominee&rsquo;s level of sportsmanship and mentoring.</p>
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Social and digital components supporting the campaign look to capitalize on the uptick of football-related chatter at this time of year. The hashtag #carealwayswins will group together branded and user-generated content.</p>
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Social content will primarily take place on Twitter and include a push on Facebook. Posts designed specifically for the award will drive traffic to the online contest, but the initiative also includes user-generated posts. Ads on Facebook and Twitter will amplify the content.</p>
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&quot;Social will be as important as the traditional paid locations and that&rsquo;s what makes this campaign a little bit different from some of the other things that we&rsquo;ve done in the past,&quot; said Matthew McCarthy, senior director of antiperspirants/deodorants at Unilever. &quot;We think we&rsquo;ve got an idea here around care that has its own legs and we really want to&mdash;as quickly as possible&mdash;turn over that conversation to real guys through social.&quot;</p>
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In addition to digital, Dove Men+Care&rsquo;s campaign includes public relations efforts, such as Shaw speaking about the brand and a sponsored clinic at Stanford; product sampling; and an advertorial in the December issue of <a href="http://www.adweek.com/topic/sports-illustrated" target="_blank">Sports Illustrated</a>.</p>
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&quot;Guys really understand the role of care, particularly around sportsmanship and the power of mentoring in sports,&quot; McCarthy said.</p>
Advertising & BrandingcontestDavid ShawDove Men+CareMatthew McCarthynew campaignLauren JohnsonStanford UniversityUnileverPackaged GoodsThu, 04 Sep 2014 14:57:06 +0000159877 at http://www.adweek.com